It's a new year but not as we know it
John Birmingham This year will be unlike any other, except the one that came before it and possibly the one that will come after. To help you navigate the highs and lows of 2014 I've consulted experts in all the fields that matter to you, but decided to make jokes about the easiest topics instead.
End to bulk-billing plan may be Coalition's own 'great big new tax'
JACQUELINE MALEY Opinion As Amanda Vanstone once famously asked: What can five bucks buy you anyway? Now the government appears to be considering a $5 or $6 fee for Medicare-funded doctor's visits, which have hitherto been free, it is worth reminding ourselves, with the fearless logic of the former family and community services minister, that such an amount is a piffling sum.
Nuclear ruin beckons, if not for good luck
Bruce Anderson The Western world has lost control of the ship and it all started in 1888.
A tale of two cities is retold in New York
JULIA BAIRD Oscar de la Renta, Prada, Roger Vivier, Chanel. On New Year's Eve the women of New York's elite sparkled in their extraordinary, extravagant couture alongside men in black velvet jackets at the premiere of Strauss' Die Fledermaus at the Metropolitan Opera. Outside, icy air turned knuckles red and breath white. Inside, chandeliers glowed alternately rose, gold and blue as a toy train circled the trunk of an enormous, sparkling Christmas tree.
Planning chaos on coast a sign of tide towards sea changes
Ian Hoskins The newness of our beach embrace is reflected in its architecture.
SMH
Sharks are entitled to their domain
How vain do we want to be as a culture? How disconnected with our natural environment?
ASIO files: That looks suspicious, doesn't it?
RICK FENELEY ASIO's secret surveillance films and photos captured many innocent Australians. Now we can see them.
Petition site change.org an agent change for greater good
ANNE DAVIES Change.org is giving the powerless and downtrodden in society a powerful voice.
Climate change: It's hot - and not just in the kitchens of bickering MPs
PETER HANNAM Rising temperatures are inevitable, say the experts, so brace yourself for more.
Wet'n'Wild patrons unhappy with high prices
Rachel Browne, Lucy Carroll Besides the technical issues that have dogged the park, patrons are unhappy with the high prices.
Passengers from ship trapped in ice safe on Aurora Australis
NICKY PHILLIPS The joint rescue effort was a credit to all involved.
Supplementary questions: The vitamin D scare
JULIE POWER Experts say fears of deficiencies in vitamin D are overblown.
Catwalk hopefuls
Chic still keeps the catwalk humming
DAISY DUMAS Ursula Hufnagl keeps her modelling agency and its models constantly fresh.
Knocking heads: What makes one man attack another?
Peter Munro An unchecked primal urge causes some young men to lose control with savage results.
January 4
Harsher penalties unlikely to work
I have, of course, full sympathy for the families and friends of the recent victims of unprovoked attacks on the streets of Sydney
Architecture
Planning chaos on coast a sign of tide towards sea changes
Ian Hoskins The newness of our beach embrace is reflected in its architecture.
NSW sentencing laws are out of step with its human rights obligations
John Anderson, Felicity Wardhaugh, Daniel Matas NSW must pay attention to its human rights obligations when it comes to prisoners, write John Anderson, Felicity Wardhaugh and Daniel Matas.
The politics of Palestine
JONATHAN SWAN Opinion When Joe Hockey, Bob Carr and a half-dozen other politicians schmoozed a crowd of worshippers in pouring rain outside the Lakemba mosque during the election campaign, SBS news summarised the spectacle: ''Labor and Coalition court Muslim vote''.
Champion of Aussie-culturalism
RICK FENELEY It took until adulthood for this MP to be proud of his Italian heritage, writes Rick Feneley.
From war to weather, a year of living dangerously
Jason Cleary-Gorton Was 2013 a year when the world went out of the control, or am I just noticing more as I grow older? It felt like a turbulent year: a year of change, war and loss.
Pope Francis hits reset and it's Tony Abbott and George Pell who must adjust
ANNE SUMMERS Just around the corner from where I am staying in Rome is Gammarelli, a small shop that describes itself as ''Sartoria per Ecclesiastici'' - clothing for religious orders - but the small white skullcap in the window offers the vital clue that this store is different from the several others in the neighbourhood that sell priests' vestments.
'I'm retiring'
Justin Bieber retires leaving tears and cheers
Sophia Phan At 19, the pop fop is retiring with the $58m he earned last year, leaving tears and cheers.
Boxing Day sales: Mind over money
AMY MCNEILAGE We could do it all on the internet - yet still we flock, in person, to the sales. Amy McNeilage finds out why.
Private health insurance: one in the hip pocket
RACHEL BROWNE With premiums steadily rising, many people are cutting back their healthcare cover, writes Rachel Browne.
Eastern religion has its share of abuse too
Anthony Ackroyd Midway through 1968, a disillusioned and angry John Lennon could be found inside the Beatles' London offices channelling his frustration by scratching the lyrics to a new song into a piece of wood.
TV viewers can expect a dry spell this summer
ANNABEL ROSS 'Tis the season for bad TV, and it looks like it's getting worse, writes Annabel Ross.
G20 presidency a big test for PM
When Australia took on the presidency of the G20 this month Tony Abbott said it would be an opportunity to shape the global economic agenda and to "showcase the best of our nation".
A calm, methodical tribute to the other winners of 2013
JUDITH IRELAND Opinion The High-Waisted Pants Award for an idea that seemed like a good one at the time.
Australia accused of playing dirty in battle with East Timor over oil and gas reserves
TOM ALLARD Spies undercover as aid workers …. Spies raiding spies … The Timor Sea's rich gas and oil deposits are at the heart of the latest espionage saga.
Tony Abbott, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard: a year of frantic politics
MARK KENNY Opinion It was a year when a colourful cast of politicians bumbled their way, writes Mark Kenny.
DECEMBER 28
Criticism of Pell not borne out by facts
Cardinal George Pell has been in Sydney since 2001. There is no suggestion that he is guilty of covering up cases of abuse, or attempting to stop people bringing complaints to the police, or reappointing offenders to positions of authority in his diocese (Letters, December 27). He has ensured that what happened before he was a bishop has not happened during his tenure.
Pope Francis shows it is simple to simply be kind
JULIA BAIRD The word of the year was selfie. But the person? Pope Francis.
Carlingford school accident: Akshay Balan's uncle urges parents to take care
Rachel Olding, Leesha McKenny Greater enforcement of rules by councils and better driving habits in the 40km/h zones will help avoid more tragedies, write Rachel Olding and Leesha McKenny.
Why don't we just sell the Great Barrier Reef then?
MIKE CARLTON A bold scheme to sell the Great Barrier Reef and another to downscale the national broadband network will be the key to the Credlin-Abbott government bringing the budget back to surplus, perhaps as early as 2016.
Is Pope Francis a socialist?
Christina Odone His Holiness has thrilled billions with his humility and his mission to embrace the poor.
Syria revolution: Overthrowing Assad regime up to new grouping of militias
Ruth Pollard A new coalition of militias holds the last chance of revolution against the Assad regime.
Booze and youth make violent cocktail
NICOLE HASHAM Politicians claim they've done what they can about alcohol-fuelled violence and the community should step up, writes Nicole Hasham.
Great Barrier Reef dredging is demonised by activists
Michael Roche One point has been ignored in reaction tothe dredging program at Abbot Point.
Joe Hockey gives frank analysis but remains coy about budget cuts
JACQUELINE MALEY Opinion MYEFO is a funny little acronym.
ATAR is just a number but education changes lives
Families going to the cinema this summer to watch the latest instalment of The Hunger Games films could be forgiven for thinking they are watching a parable about the Higher School Certificate.
A hunger for the spiritual: the Australians finding new meaning in Christmas
BARNEY ZWARTZ More Australians are turning from organised religion, but are disillusioned by consumer culture.
Syd Fischer hopes to go with sea boots on
Rosamund Burton At 86, sailing legend Syd Fischer will take part in his 45th Sydney to Hobart this year.
Aboriginal body investigated over misuse of funds
Debra Jopson One of the country's largest Aboriginal organisations is being investigated over the misuse of public funds.
George Brandis' inside job on human rights draws fire
Deborah Snow Tim Wilson bypassed tradition, writes Deborah Snow.
What you need to know before seeing The Hobbit
GARRY MADDOX Part two of J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved story hits screens soon.
Abbott's 'lottery' an insult to desperate
Government support for an overseas adoption plan is an excellent concept (''Child's play as PM taps star value'', December 20). However, the present overseas adoption system in Australia, Europe and Britain is an expensive process and it seems only viable for the rich and famous, or just the rich.
Lunch with Alister Haigh
Mark Dapin The fourth-generation maker of Adelaide's famous chocolates happily killed off the Easter bunny.
